pains: Grasp it like a man of mettle, And it soft as silk remains. 1830 R. FORBY
Vocabulary of East Anglia 430 ‘Nip a nettle hard, and it will not sting you’—i.e. Strong
and decided measures prevail best with troublesome people. 1925 S. O’CASEY Juno &
Paycock I. 35 Be firm, Captain. .. If you gently touch a nettle it’ll sting you for your
pains; grasp it like a lad of mettle, an’ as soft as silk remains. boldnessNEVER is a long time
c 1390 CHAUCER Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale 1. 1411 Nevere to thryve were to long a
date. 1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 260 Never is a long Term. .. Spoken to them that
say they will never get such a Thing effected. 1887 BLACKMORE Springhaven I. xvii.
She never could pay her rent. But ‘never is a long time’.. and.. she stood clear of all debt
now. 1979 H. HOWARD Sealed Envelope iii. ‘I never reveal my sources.’.. ‘Never is a
long time.’ futureNEVER say never
Probably a pithy modern reformulation of the preceding proverb.
1977 Economist 9 Apr. 6 Mr Colley.. is politician enough never to say never. 1978
Washington Post 2 Mar. A1 Marshall did not rule out a resumption of talks, saying ‘you
can never say “never” in this business.’ 1984 Washington Post 27 Apr. A23 A president
should ‘never say never.’ 2002 Washington Times 18 Apr. B5 That proves you should
never say ‘Never.’ futureIt is NEVER too late to learn
A later variation of the next two proverbs.
1678 R. L’ESTRANGE Seneca’s MoralsII. xx. It is never too late to learn what it is
always necessary to know. 1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 266 Never too late to learn.
1856 W. COLLINS Lady of Glenwith Grange in After Dark II. 3 ‘It is never too late to
learn,’ cried he. ‘I will make a fisherman of you in no time, if you will only attend to my
directions.’ 1927 E. F. BENSON Lucia in London ii. We want to know what the
cosmopolitan mind is thinking about. Of course we’re old, but it is never too late to learn.
2002 Washington Times 17 Feb. B3 To his credit, Norman Mailer later said that he felt ‘a
very large responsibility’ for Mr. Adan’s murder, and admitted that he ‘never thought
Abbott was close to killing ...I was not sensitive to the fact.’ It’s never too late to learn.